


the smart thing

by ManaGummi



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Mentions of Soriku, Post canon, Study Group, brief mentions of roxner, friendship fic, kinda a character study i guess, riku helps roxas and xion with school, the heart hotel all lightly crushing on riku, what a pal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:54:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29413710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ManaGummi/pseuds/ManaGummi
Summary: “What’s the atomic number for mercury?” As he asks it, Riku leans over and holds an upside-down flashcard in front of her. It’s got two little numbers and the symbol of an element - mercury, Xion guesses - written on it in Riku’s neat script, and Xion takes a moment to process the information it holds.“Hmmm,” Xion hums as she folds her hands over her stomach. “Eighty? It’s the bottom number, right?”-------------It's basic chemistry, really.
Relationships: riku & xion & roxas
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	the smart thing

**Author's Note:**

> so i wrote like months and months ago and wasn't gonna post it but what the hey! for some reason i hc that riku helps xion and roxas with their schoolwork from time to time. it's fun.

Standing up was definitely going to make Xion dizzy.

But that was fine, because a moment of dizziness was a small price to pay for the experience of laying upside down on a large, plush couch, legs slung over the back and head dangling off the seat cushion. Xion likes this couch, it was wine red and made of some smooth and soft material she didn’t remember the name of and, most importantly, it was really, really comfy. The shopping trip for their apartment’s furniture was a hazy, busy memory for Xion, but she definitely remembers looking at Lea with her widest eyes and pointing at this red couch. 

It’s a good couch for just about anything you’d need a couch for, but Xion loves it for the way she can tip her head over the side and feel the blood quickly flowing to her head. Loves the way it feels like the rush of a battle just begun, all the concentrated feeling with none of the danger, and how she can just lie there, still and breathing, and take note of the way things get fuzzy and distant the longer she remains still. It feels a lot like losing herself all over again, just toned down, simpler, easier to come back from. It’s a nice reminder that trigonometry and basic nuclear chemistry are nothing compared to the feeling of fading away from existence. It’s grounding, honestly. Xion thinks it keeps her focused. Roxas thinks it’s concerning.

Riku, off to her left, seems to think it’s nothing out of the ordinary. Considering that he’s dating Sora, he probably sees much goofier stuff on a daily basis. Still, it’s kind of soothing to be able to do her thing without the little joking remarks she’s used to, and even more soothing because Riku hasn’t so much as quirked an eyebrow at Xion as she answers chemistry questions upside down. He just shuffles the pages of Xion’s study guide and reads off the next question.

“What’s the atomic number for mercury?” As he asks it, Riku leans over and holds an upside-down flashcard in front of her. It’s got two little numbers and the symbol of an element - mercury, Xion guesses - written on it in Riku’s neat script, and Xion takes a moment to process the information it holds.

“Hmmm,” Xion hums as she folds her hands over her stomach. “Eighty? It’s the bottom number, right?”

The flashcard retreats from her field of vision, and she can hear Riku scratching something down onto a piece of paper. “Yup. Good job,” he praises quietly, and Xion has to immediately tamp down the little thrill of warmth the words kindle in her.

Stupid Sora and his stupid crush and how he stupidly had to share his stupid sappy feelings with everyone who shared his heart. Xion doesn’t even  _ like _ boys. She shouldn’t have to deal with residual Riku Crush.

“Let’s run through another ten questions, then we can take a break,” Riku tells her, and Xion’s suddenly pretty sure that at the rate this study session is going she’ll be over her crush pretty soon.

Xion keeps her groan to herself and answers six more questions mostly correctly before the apartment door swings open to reveal Roxas in the doorway, one hand gripping the doorknob and his patented Riku Glare squarely on his face. “Hi, Roxas!” Xion chirps. She wiggles herself up from her upside-down position until she can slowly sit up, stifling a giggle at the weird  _ whoosh _ of sensation that accompanies the motions. “You’re late, so we went ahead and started studying without you.”

The eyeroll that Roxas fails to suppress is about as dramatic as Xion had expected, and as he walks into the living room he kicks the door behind him with more force than strictly necessary. She decides not to mention the way his cheeks dust faintly pink when he notices Riku’s quick wave toward him as he passes (seriously, it would have been so much easier for all of them if Sora had kept his lovey dovey feelings to himself), and instead just scoots over on the couch so Roxas can flop down beside her after he drops his bag on the floor. “Whatever,” he finally grumbles. “Hayner had some stupid idea he wanted me to help with, and it took way too fucking long, so yeah. I’m late.”

“Ooooo, must have been fun though,” Xion trills while she shoots Roxas a sticky sweet smirk, eyebrows carefully raised in a pointed stare. Hayner and Roxas had been working on  _ quite _ a lot of “ideas” lately, and Xion wasn’t born yesterday (even if it was pretty close to yesterday). She saw the way that Hayner and Roxas batted at each other recently, touches more frequent and juuuust a bit too long to be strictly platonic.

Honestly, Xion thought they were pretty cute together. Roxas would kill her for mentioning it though.

Riku eyes them both with a poorly masked smirk, curiosity dancing in his eyes. It’s obvious that Riku desperately wants to make some quip at Roxas’s expense, and while Xion does love to watch the two of them get into it she also knows that Riku’s at a disadvantage. Roxas has more than enough dirt on Riku’s pining past to win this war.

Thankfully, Riku makes the wise choice and redirects his gaze to the mess of flashcards he’s trying to organize, but the smirk doesn’t fully die away. Xion has a choice here. With Roxas in a grumpy mood and Riku looking for a fight, it wouldn’t take much to goad them into battle, freeing Xion from studying and giving her an entertaining show. At the same time, she really does need the refresher. Roxas needs it even more.

It’s really a tough choice, but Xion supposes she’ll do the smart thing.

“Hey Riku, do you think we could go over those last few questions again?” she asks sweetly as she tucks her hands under her thighs. Riku looks up and blinks at her a little owlishly, no doubt confused seeing as Xion had answered those questions with ease. Xion meets his gaze and casually tilts her head toward Roxas, who is currently trying to scowl at his phone but is really only managing a fond, sappy smirk. Riku tilts his head up, his mouth forming a small “o”, before giving Xion a tiny nod.

“Sure,” Riku replies, focused once more on reshuffling the cards. “We’ll start again with reading proper notation, sound good?”

Roxas is still being gross at his phone, so Xion gives him a sharp elbow in the side and neatly dodges his attempt to shove her in retaliation. She ducks under his grasp and darts in to pinch his side hard enough that Roxas yelps, and she has a mere half-second to catch the devious grin on his face before Roxas locks his arms around Xion’s shoulders and pulls her against him. From there, Xion isn’t really sure who does what, but they’re both quickly wrapped into an intense, breathless tickle fight, grappling and flipping each other on the couch.

There’s a brief moment where Xion pins Roxas down by the shoulders, and she catches Riku’s amused face watching the two of them roughhouse. “On second thought,” she gasps out with a grin. “Let’s pick up again in twenty minutes.” She shrieks with laughter as Roxas pounces and topples them both over, and when she hears Roxas and Riku join in, she can’t help the way her heart swells in her chest.

She feels dizzy, her blood rushing but in a good way. It’s by far better than the feel of battle. It’s home.

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to come yell with me on twitter @managummi


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